Tag: cricket house studios

Well, obviously the answer is none, because mechanics are commonly called “artists”, chefs are called “artists” and the other day, I think it was a politician that a journalist noted is really an “artist” of politics. Anything can be called art until you are the one doing it – then nothing you do can be considered art.

And, never assume that any art or design at all needs to be created for the term “artist” to be bestowed upon someone or something – as long as they are not actually creating art.

It is also, neither the amount of work done, the training to be able to do it well, the efforts for some number of years to market your art and designs, nor the number of years doing it in aggregate.

But it is also not the value nor the quality of the artworks or design either, because right now – it is trendy to have a style that is severely more amateurish than ever before and if you are not producing that – then you are still not “an artist” or a “designer”.

At one time, having a body of work that you have created in art and design was enough to be a calling card that established proficiency and merit at least in claiming the term, artist or designer.

But, now that the internet is so encompassing and the merits of everything so fleeting for the next new thing, that body of work isn’t even required and in fact, may be more of a reason for business backers to not want to invest. It defines nothing of merit that says the skills are there and the works have been done.

Everything is simply about marketing and what the market wants at the moment and whether any of the things you’ve created or designed can fit the trends of today and next week. But, what if you are an American artist and designer with a body of work that proves it to be the case, and have been investing years of study and sacrifice and effort into creating those skills, artworks and designs? Then what?

It might mean something – and there might be a market for it – that is all it means. You still can’t call yourself an artist or a designer unless you are really doing something that has absolutely no relationship to art or the product of art or design – like baking, or being a heating and air conditioning repair person, or a pilot, or a mathematician or only God knows what – or a gardener, or a landscaper (but not a landscape designer, they can’t be called a “designer” in a social context.) It has been bizarre like that for years.

And, people will tell you – just don’t give up, your work is really, really good. And, they’ll say, you just need to sell it and for more people to know about it, but nobody wants to be bothered with seeing it, the excitement of creating it isn’t very exciting to the people who might want to own it and they don’t want to be bothered watching it be created either – especially since it isn’t a funny cat video.

Maybe I just need to do a cat video.

No, I’ve made some cat videos and they were not all that entertaining. Creating art could be more entertaining than the videos I’ve made of it, but it is hard to even want to do that when I already have thousands of artworks I’ve created and designs I’ve made over years and years of creating this body of work – and can’t even realistically call myself an artist because I totally suck at marketing.

And now, people want things that are vastly different with lots of white space, done by somebody in their twenties, not necessarily time consuming or intensely skilled products from it and a style that happens to be trendy at the moment. How do I even tell people about the art I have done or that I could do when there is simply no real way to show it to them or tell them about it where they want to see it and know about it?

I’m sharing this with you to try and help myself think about all of it in more expansive terms rather than as closed off as I feel right now about my work and its opportunities to find the right place in the markets and in the world.

I like it when people buy my work and own it as the special piece in their home or office or vacation house. I like that. If I understood better how to share it with them online and in person – would that be enough for people who might want it and appreciate my art and designs to see them?

One of my little art cards with an ocean painting on it, called Baby Crickets – collectible and each one is a hand painted original work of art. Some of them have been used as designs on my Zazzle store at CricketDiane and Cricket House Studios Art and Design.

cricketdiane, 05-11-2018

**

About CricketDiane –

I’ve been creating nearly every day since I was a kid and that is over 50 years. I’ve created in numerous ways in a range that moves from art to problem-solving to inventing, creating music, sculpting and painting to writing and doing various computer / online based projects.

“It is better to make the effort to move forward and release the flow of ideas to work with them and do things creatively, create things and invent and write and make – I definitely know that by experience.” – cricketdiane, 2018

It is handy to have other ways to view the same thing that can inspire new ways to use it, new ideas from it, and new viewpoints about it. Whether for brainstorming or creating, these five ways to look at something differently help to approach the same thing from different avenues of thinking.

**

Backwards – from where you want it to be back to now.

Deconstructed – all the elements if they weren’t stuck together.

Upside-down – if it were the exact opposite of what it is now.

Inside-out – what would it be if its inside parts were on the outside.

One of the ways many artists and crafters are using to sell their work is through arts and crafts festivals, country fair style shows and country craft festivals. Many of these festivals have large audiences of potential customers come to the event, meander through the arts, crafts, music and food booths, and would love to take home something that is handmade by an artist or craft maker.

Often, the fees to have a booth are reasonable and though some artists craft to suit the theme of the show – cherry blossom artwork or apple themed artwork and crafts, for instance, anything can be shown and most art styles are appreciated. It isn’t all paintings of old barns and country scenes.

Where To Find Arts and Crafts Fairs, Festivals and Shows

If you want to pursue putting your art and crafts into these types of country fairs and art festivals, the first thing to do is to craft pieces of work that are appropriate to the audiences of people who love to attend these events.

Create Artworks and Crafts To Offer At The Arts and Crafts Festivals

There is a vast range of festivals, many of them with a theme from apples and apple blossoms to folk and country arts and crafts. Wonderful pine shelves with pegs for holding coats, hats and scarves are still very popular items with a touch of country art on them hand-painted and similar items. But, so are more contemporary designs with farmhouse appeal, watercolors of apple blossoms mounted and framed, prints and hand-crafted items too.

After finding some of the arts and crafts festivals you want to enter, check the directory or using the name of the event, go through google to find it. Somewhere on the event’s page will be a call to artists and crafters to have a booth. There is usually a separate place for vendors to have tables, and usually non-handcrafted items are intended to be in the vendor areas.

Decide On What Type of Booth – Art / Craft Booth Or Vendor Table

Sometimes, artists and crafters get vendor tables to be closer to the areas of the show where music is being played, dance performances are happening and food sales are being made, but it isn’t necessary to be seen by doing it that way because crowds typically want to see all of the things at these festivals and will wander throughout the various areas of booths that are there.

Most shows require fees, photographs of what your display will be, sometimes insurance also. There are sales taxes to collect and remit and some states require a sale tax number to show at art shows.

Some Art Festival Type Shows Have Juried Portions For Artworks and Crafts

There are arts and crafts festivals that have a portion which is juried with ribbons, certificates or occasionally, prize money for the top three places in various categories. Most of the festivals want the artists and crafters to do well and try to place their booths to get as much traffic as possible.

If there are prizes for the juried portion, sometimes those artists and crafters who entered the juried part of the show may be put in a distinct area and sometimes, in an inside gallery area together. There are often submission and entry fees for the juried portion of the show.

Prepare Your Artworks and Crafts To Be Displayed For The Show Or Festival

Almost all arts shows and festivals require basic things and for the protection of your artwork and handcrafted items, most of these are common sense requirements, like frames on artworks, stable hanging systems for them, stands for crafts and sculptures to be stable and strong so that people walking by can’t knock the pieces over accidentally, covering electrical cords you may need for your display so people can’t be tripped by them, and an uncluttered access to see your work in your booth.

Finding the shows where you think your work will fit and then making some pieces to go into the show, paying the fees and registering, getting approved to participate and getting everything ready is not everything that needs to be done. The booth elements need to be designed and photographed so you can submit them if needed by the show rules. The displays for the artworks and crafts need to be decided upon, designed and made if necessary and part purchased that will be needed.

Get The Working Parts Together For The Show – Canopy, Tables, Chairs

For outdoor art shows and festivals, an overhead canopy is typically necessary. Get one that can have sides added for the evening and tied down. Most people placing their canopies have something to hold them down to the ground in wind and rain too – usually gallon jugs filled with sand or some other heavy tie down system to keep it from blowing away or being knocked over.

There will need to be tables and chairs if those are going to be part of the display or pedestals, shelving or whatever is going to hold handcrafted work, some system that allows hanging artworks if not provided by the show, and lighting for it. All of these tables, shelves, display elements as well as the canopy must be set up before the show and then taken down afterwards, so it is important to keep in mind the difficulty of managing that alone or with the help of one other person when buying these or making them.

Moving Artworks and Craft Pieces To And From The Show, Festival or Fair

Framed works of art with glass must be handled from your studio or home to the show without being broken, which means packing blankets or wrap to cover them on route, plus very possibly having a dolly to move them from your vehicle to the booth space without killing your back doing it. There are some great dollies and hand-trucks now that collapse to a very small footprint and carry a lot to the location. It is well worth getting a couple of these to move things back and forth from the house to the car and from the car to the show booth which is often not close to the off-loading areas.

So, now you’ve put together a display system, bought a canopy that is easy to put up and take down, filled some jugs with sand and put a rope on them, found a dolly, made some artworks and framed them, maybe made some crafts and finished them to show, registered for the show and paid the fees. Then, what?

Get Another Person To Help Attend The Arts and Crafts Festival With You To Help

Next is to arrange for someone or more than one person to help you do the show. Things need to be carried and set-up, but also being the only person to watch your booth for the entire show can be impractical. Sooner or later, you have to get bathroom breaks, go get some food, have some time to regroup, take a serenity break from the crowds for a few minutes, whatever it may be.

Some shows have hosts and hostesses that will sit with your booth while you run do those things for a few minutes to maybe a half hour at a time throughout the show, but usually – you need someone who can come do the show with you, even if you have to pay someone to relieve you for part of the day or stay throughout the whole thing and help with setup and breakdown.

Get Sales Tax Forms And Tax ID Number Certificate

One other reminder very briefly – the tax forms are sometimes available at the arts and crafts festivals and sometimes the show producers will note that you need to get that before showing and collecting sales tax.

Definitely track the costs of all these things you are buying and putting together as you go along – in a folder specifically for each show or note them on a spreadsheet as you go. That and having the forms ready or submitted for the sales tax, and the registration card or tax id number where you can take it to the show with you (they usually have to be on location with you, and shown to the tax representative, if requested), will make the process a lot easier as you go.

Things To Remember To Have For The Arts and Crafts Fair / Festival

Remember to include the show fees and insurance with the costs of everything needed to do the show. And, always ask if electricity is available for your booth, or only certain booths and if there is any extra cost for having it. Never, never do an arts or crafts festival as an exhibitor without a chair, a jug of water to drink and quickly rinse your hands off, if you must – and a cup to put it in. Just saying – from experience.

cricketdiane, 04-11-2018

**

About CricketDiane

I’ve been creating nearly every day since I was a kid and that is over 50 years. I’ve created in numerous ways in a range that moves from art to problem-solving to inventing, creating music, sculpting and painting to writing and doing various computer / online based projects.

“It is better to make the effort to move forward and release the flow of ideas to work with them and do things creatively, create things and invent and write and make – I definitely know that by experience.” – cricketdiane, 2018

Yesterday, I made two anti-trump tshirts that are pro-facts and pro-science. There were also several political buttons I made from the same design. They turned out very well. They are concise and to the point with good design and look great. Good combination. Looks like these tshirts would be great to wear for marches coming up including the March for Science and Earth Day Marches. I think groups are going to be marching for our oceans around the same time too – or as part of the Earth Day marches. These tshirts would be great for those marches.

Today, I’ve made these two matching trendy designer products – a shopping tote bag and iPhone case to match with a chic wonderful fashion look to them. They were made from a design I made several years ago and keep going back to do a little more with it. I really like it a lot. They turned out so nice.

Designing things for anti-trump tshirts was interesting and finding pins that support net neutrality was great too. Putting the science march in mind and earth, I’m designing some things for next year since it is already so close to happening now.

Sell on Amazon

This page on Amazon lists categories in which a seller can sell various things on Amazon without any special permission, including about 20 different categories of products. It also lists the requirements on those categories which do have special requirements for selling them on Amazon.

Approval is not required to sell these products. Sellers may be required to meet special requirements in order to list some products. Both Individual and Professional Sellers can offer products in these categories, except where noted.

However, there seems to be about a $40 a month fee plus other selling fees for selling on Amazon in this way. Haven’t checked all of that yet, but it certainly reaches a vast audience of potential customers.

**

Also on Amazon – there are two categories of note to artists and crafters who create handmade products. One of these categories is listed as this, but only available for collectibles and with approval from Amazon for Professional Sellers only. It is about halfway down the list.

Society6

Below you will find the required resolutions for our alternative products. To achieve these exact dimensions you may need to crop your original high-resolution file. However, do not increase the size by resampling in a photo edition program, as this will distort the quality of your work.

THE MOST POPULAR PRINT ON DEMAND SHOPIFY APPS REVIEWED

GearLaunch easily wins the competition for best print on demand partner for Shopify. Best service, quality, consistent fast delivery… no one comes close to GearLaunch. Check out the video as I walk through the installation method to make the integration. Don’t worry, it’s super easy and no technical skill is required whatsoever.

For the most part, Shopify T-shirt fulfillment apps all work the same way, with minor nuances and variations.

After integrating the app and building out some designs, your POD app will sync the designs to your store. When a customer purchases a t-shirt, the order is sent directly to your POD supplier where they print and ship the shirt to your customer.

This all happens automatically behind the scenes without any manual order processing. This allows you to focus on higher value responsibilities like marketing your store to increase traffic, improving conversion rate, increasing average order size, and raising customer lifetime value.

also –

Teelaunch –

Teelaunch has more competitive margins, so you make more money on each sale. This allows you to spend more on marketing, and invest more back into your business to grow faster.

Here is a quick breakdown of margins across a few of Teelaunch’s products:

**

Printful + Shopify

Lists the things they offer for print on demand with your designs and they are shipped out of several locations in the US and Europe to arrive to the customers faster (within 3 days mostly.)

White label service: We don’t include any Printful branding when we ship your orders. You’re the star of the show, and we make sure your brand is front and centre with our branding tools, like a free sticker of your logo on every order.

Discounted samples: Order samples of your products for 20% off and free shipping worldwide! See exactly what your customers are getting.

Your end price will depend on what you and your customers think is fair, but we recommend a minimum profit margin of 30%.

Say you’re selling a Gildan 64000 unisex softstyle t-shirt. Your price is $18.00. Our price is $8.95. Subtract our price from yours and you get a profit of $9.05.

**

Redbubble

Redbubble was born in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. The dream was simple. Give independent artists a meaningful new way to sell their creations. Today, we connect over 400k artists and designers across the planet with millions of passionate fans. A brave (and dare we say stylish) new world of self expression.

(and)

Creative? Like money? Open a shop in minutes. For free. Just upload your art and designs and leave the rest to us. We handle all the printing (on over 60 quality products) and shipping to almost anywhere on earth. Ready? Let’s go.

Pricing as low as $9/month

Whether you sell online, on social media, in store, or out of the trunk of your car, Shopify has you covered. Start selling anywhere for just $9/month.

**

About CricketDiane –

I’ve been creating nearly every day since I was a kid and that is over 50 years. I’ve created in numerous ways in a range that moves from art to problem-solving to inventing, creating music, sculpting and painting to writing and doing various computer / online based projects.

These designer wine items I made recently on my Zazzle store from artworks that were both hand rendered as drawings and photographs I made – then some of the designs also worked from there through Photoshop to make nifty new looks for them.

The designs on this post are for wine tasting events, for wine lovers and to have wine themed artwork in your home or apartment, or vacation cottage. They make great wine themed gifts too.

The first design is in black and white with the word, Vino on it – as an artwork poster showing the wine bottle and grapes from one of my hand-rendered drawings.

Wine Tasting invitations made with a CricketDiane artwork and design – with a bottle of vino and simple clean drawing of a wine bottle and grapes plus information you can customize to your wine event or wine tasting party.

One of the other still life wine bottle, wine glass and copper kettle with grapes photographs that I made with a different artistic look to the image (as a poster). Great poster for the kitchen, dining room, for a boutique coffee house or for a wine seller to gift at a tasting event.

Showing the wine bottle design I did in a drawing for this vino tote – I love the look of the grapes in this one. It is a great wine tote bag to take to a wine tasting or a weekend at the vineyard tasting events.

A nice poster art piece using one of my photographs of a still life with wine bottle, wine glass, grapes and a copper tea kettle. Using art software, I changed the colors and added the word, Vino to the image. Available on demand at Zazzle through my CricketDiane store.

A nice tote bag to take with you to that wine tasting event and bring back at least a couple bottles of vino. One of my pastel chalk drawings of a wine bottle, wine glass and grapes made the design for this contemporary fashion vino tote.

About CricketDiane –

I’ve been creating nearly every day since I was a kid and that is over 50 years. I’ve created in numerous ways in a range that moves from art to problem-solving to inventing, creating music, sculpting and painting to writing and doing various computer / online based projects.

“It is better to make the effort to move forward and release the flow of ideas to work with them and do things creatively, create things and invent and write and make – I definitely know that by experience.” – cricketdiane, 2018